Friday, June 10, 2016

Meditation and Improved Exam Performance

Mindfulness meditation is a simple tool that can guarantee improved exam performance and thus help us to become better students.  When it comes to sitting for an exam, many of us have experienced the anxiety around the pressure to perform well.  We think our lives will end if we don’t pass our exams and imagine all the ways our life will come tumbling down.  Stressful! 

There have been numerous studies done correlating the effect of meditation on academic performance.  Besides reducing stress, there is strong evidence that meditation directly improves IQ, short-term memory, creativity and cognitive ability.  On a deeper level, meditation connects students to deeper levels of peace, inner fulfillment and self-consciousness.  How can meditation do all of this you ask?


Mindfulness meditation can help us keep our thoughts in the present moment, where our efforts can best serve us.  By freeing up mind space from thoughts of future worries, we can open up more space and energy to focus on the demands of the present moment.  This equates to improved focus and concentration, which leads to better test results.  When our focus improves, we are able to better comprehend and retain the material we are studying.  We also make fewer mistakes when we are truly concentrating and paying attention to what we are reading, writing and speaking.  In helping to remove self-doubt and improve exam performance, meditation also helps us to become more confident, which then makes us more assertive and resilient.  Ultimately we learn to love and appreciate ourselves, regardless of our exam scores.


Sources:(1) Art of Living (2) Leadership Training Programs




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